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"Katashi Tales" Endearment for Words Dedicated for the Betterment of World Literature and Global Writers!
“Katashi Tales,”—Words of Endearment Symbolizing God ‘s Love for the Betterment of World Literature and Global Writers. Title: Katashi Tales Author: Shiju H. Pallithazheth Publisher: Independently Published Year: 2019 Pages: 306 ASIN: B07QPVCNGC ISBN-10: 1094684120 ISBN-13: 978-1094684123 Hard Copy Price: $9:90 Kindle Edition: $3:50 Introduction: This awesome and uplifting book based on ethics and morality, is dedicated to,"World Literature and all Global Writers." The introduction details how the stories came about by Katuri, a wise old granny, sitting under an old oak tree in the village of Katashi. She narrated one each week. Villagers flocked to hear her stories, which became popularly known as, “Katashi Tales.” The 15-stories, narrated by Katuri, are symbolic of living a Godly life with moral discipline and ethical principles. During this book review, several comparative analogies will be used. They are great for heightening understanding and allowing readers to achieve greater knowledge by making a connection to the story at hand in another sphere. The first story, is about a baker named John, in Engleberg, Switzerland. He was over confident, never listened to his customers, showered praise on himself, felt he had magical powers, and marginalized the town’s people, who were sad about his behavior. “John the Baker,” reminds me of a baker in Ansbach, Germany. As a comparative analogy: succulent smells from the bread and cakes, circulated the neighborhood early in the mornings. I normally get two loaves of bread and a cake for the personnel in my office. The baker loved seeing me, and had great comments about the military. The difference between this baker in Ansbach, Germany and John, in Engleberg, Switzerland is, he never self-praised himself, his products, nor marginalized others. He always listened to customers, and the people were happy about his demeanor, unlike John in Switzerland. His wife was always there shaking hands with the customers with a smiling face, unlike at John’s bakery. The bakery in Germany is still in operation while John’s bakery is shut down. The morals of this story are: don’t consider oneself above others, practice good customer relations, be mindful in conducting business, control one’s ego, don’t get over confident, and don’t look down on others. Quite a comparative difference between the two bakers and bakeries regarding success and failure. The next story, “Tommy Tucker Hill,” is endearing. He lived in the village of Wankshi. His truthfulness in life, outrageous honesty, and sympathy for all, resonated worldwide. He was called, “Wankshi’s Light of Humanity!” His precious wife, Anne, stood beside him all the way. He gave her appropriate credit for her support. They eventually had a son named, Victor. He was the pride of their relationship. Synopsis from the piece are as follows: "One day in his service of humanity, he visited the town of Lakata, Africa. Upon seeing the conditions there, he stayed and helped the people with humanitarian aid. While there, he contracted a chronic viral infection, like other villagers, which took his life. The news spread far and wide of his demise. People from acrossed the world were saddened and attended his funeral. Millions in gratitude, threw a pinch of mud on his gravesite in respect, which eventually turned into a hill. Six years later his wife Anne, and son Victor, came to visit. Victor was amazed at the hill with the cross on top as in relation to the other graves. He was told by his mother, that the great human being buried there was his father." Based on a comparative analogy, this story reminds me of, "South Africa’s President, Nelson Mandela," who showed self-sacrifice for others like, "Tommy Hill." They both displayed moral leadership. Made disciples through God’s love with kindness, and were both recognized worldwide for their service and contribution to humanity. They were transformed by the people into monumental icons after their death, based on their contributions to humanity. The morals of this story are: love, charity, leadership, respect, understanding, enlightenment, not exploiting others, and selfless service to humankind. This was displayed by Tommy Tucker with sincerity, like Nelson Mandela, resulting in their worldwide recognition and remembrance. The next story, "Jumbo and Simpo," took place in Mocarado, South America. It has primary and secondary characters. The antagonists are quite visible from their display of crude actions and bad attitudes. Jumbo the elephant and Sampit the sly fox, clearly fit into this category. Their actions eventually placed them in a critical situations. Giving credit to a person for knowledge possessed, without jealousy, is note-worthy, and inspirational, which was not done by the antagonists. Simpo the squirrel is the primary protagonists. This moral of the story shows how antagonistical lies, boastfulness, pride, deceit, and negatively impact the brains of the sender and receiver, thus, resulting in death and banishment. On the other hand, it shows how wisdom, knowledge, and faith displayed by the protagonists— “Save lives!” “Uncle Gruntley,” is really a great story. He was a store owner with precious jewelry. Making money was his hobby, with no consideration for those in poverty. He was surrounded by people of vanity, with no trace of humanity. Synopsis are as follows: "Hurrying to his shop one day, he slipped and fell into a drainage hole. Rich people walked by and looked at him in pity. Discovered by a tramp, a rope was thrown down to him and he climbed out safely. Gruntley thereafter, changed his ways and became supportive of humanity." Through comparative analogy, this story reminds me of the “Parable of the Good Samaritan,” (Luke 10:25-37). The reading states, a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was robbed, injured, and left on the road. Everyone passed by him on the other side of the road, including a priest, except for the Samaritan. The man was rescued and supported back to life. The Samaritan who helped the injured man back to life was classified an outcast, just like the tramp, who helped Uncle Gruntley, was an outcast by definition. The moral of this story: inheriting eternal life is entirely dependent on loving God and one’s neighbors (Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18). Certainly, the tramp and the Samaritan, who were classified as outcasts, found great favor in God’s sight for helping others incapable of helping themselves. We have a Good Samaritan Law in America, which legally recognize and protects individuals for risking their lives to save others in peril of losing their lives. We ought to “Love our neighbors as ourselves and let not our hearts be trouble!” This is the new commandment unto all people, as followed by the Tramp and the Samaritan displaying their love. “Harry the Bunny,” is a wonderful fable. Synopsis are as follows: "He was known to the others as willing to help anyone, and was greeted by everyone. While hopping along one day on his way, he was attacked by some honey bees. One of them stung him and the others cheered as he hopped along in pain. They chased him along the way. The animals seeing this came to his rescue, which included the fishes in the lake. The bees then flew away and left Harry the bunny alone." The moral of this story shows: “There is strength in numbers!” Combined strength can surpass the enemy, and this works wonderfully well for Harry the Bunny from his friends. The next story, “TANTUN,” reminds me of my days in scouting. We were always ready to help any old lady across the street. Here, Tan and Tun exceeded that requirement as two brothers living in China. Synopsis are as follows: "While hopping, joking and talking in the rain on their way to the market, they came across a crawling and crying granny. The rain was freezing to her. Tan and Tun joined hands and carried her home. Thereafter, upon reaching the market their friends cheered them, everyone shared happiness, and they ended the day with great shopping." The moral of the story: “Helping a person increases happiness in one’s heart!” When happiness and goodwill are present, they carry over in life to others as positive energy and inspiration. This was displayed by friends of Tan and Tun in a pleasant way, which made their day. “Sandra The Charming,” is very interesting. This could be classified as a couplet poem, except for one tercet line. Excerpts are as follows: "Sandra the darling, young and charming. People always staring, kept her always blushing. One day Sandra went out fishing. A pole and hook she was carrying. Sitting on a rock Sandra started her fishing. Fishes were looking, but none of them was hooking. After a while, she sensed the hook moving. Gushing in happiness, Sandra start pulling. Came out a mermaid, blushing, charming and smiling. Full of envy, Sandra felt the mermaid was her enemy and tossed her back into the water. Years passed by, but she’s still envious, of the mermaid whose face was so charming." This story by comparative analogy, reminds me of, “Snow White’s—Mirror on the Wall.” The envy, stemming from that story and this one is very clear. The evil queen in Snow White, who wanted to know, “Who was the fairest of them all,” was envious of the beautiful Snow White. That witch, along with Sandra, who is jealous of the mermaid’s beauty, are the same, displaying enviousness in their hearts. The moral of the story reflects how destructive one gets from being jealous and envious of another, which negatively impacts the mind. The ninth, tenth and new commandants in the Bible addresses these issues of covetousness and envy. One should be very proud of their own image and reflection, which God created, and not conspire against others because of their beauty. The last fable in this inspiring book, “King Mukanko,” is very enlightening. It could be written in the rhyming couplet format or tercet depending on truncation of words across the page. It’s short, sweet, and gets straight to the point. Excerpts are as follows: "Mukanko the lion had a heart hard as iron. He was brutal and cruel. Engaging with most animal in a duel. Claiming power kingly. He took others lightly. The animals were forced to praise him. Peacocks made to dance to his whim. Hunters threw a net from great height. Trapping Mukanko so tight. Hunters carried away Mukanko to send him to Tango. They marked victory all the way, drumming a bongo." This story, based on comparative analogy, is similar to the storytelling in the “Lion King” movie. It shows that dictatorship and autocratic styles are obsolete in management of resources, personnel, relationship with loved ones, and displaying leadership. Instilling fear and horror certainly are not the right way to achieved and maximized the greatest success or results. King Mukanko the lion, falls into this leadership category, and succumbed to detrimental actions based on those traits. He will be living in a cage in, Tango, for the rest of his life because on his demeaning attributes, while the other animals are enjoying the fruits of freedom in the jungle. The additional stories and fables in the momentous and doctrinal book, are full of inspiration and are very uplifting. The themes and morals from each are encouraging and recognizable through the messages communicated from the settings, characters and actions. The images are great, and figures of speech are motivational. Morals from each story and fable, are educational, and understandable with ethical principles. They resonate as implied lessons with clarity. Readers are able to learn from the characters and their actions. This book is really fascinating and is full of inspiration for all to read and appreciate regardless of age, status, or position in life. Conclusion: The construction of each story and fable makes readability easy. The eyes are able to follow each word without missing, skipping or straining. Spacing in each sentence and paragraph gives comfort to the reader. The theme in each story or fable jumps out while reading without any head scratching or hard figuring. Figures of speech, are easily understood without any distraction of thoughts, or breaks to figure them out. The language classification and comprehension levels are not for rocket scientists. They are for everyone, or anyone to diligently read and enjoy. Use of images in the stories are awesome! Metaphors and similes are excellent for showing similarities and descriptions. One is able to easily visualize sceneries in time and place. The settings of the stories are perfectly described with the seasons and prevailing conditions. Different continents are highlighted for ease of understanding, quick recognition, and are fascinating. The applicable moralistic principles show how an antagonist confronting a protagonist loses without difficulty. There are several ironical twists in the book; however, they are quite easily predictable based on the future outlook and flow of the themes or moral of the stories. One is able to tell the outcome of a story based on the actions of the characters, and readers background, in analysis of events. This is not like reading a Shakespearean play with critical ensuing analysis. These pieces are easily understood and are enlightening. The stories and fables have clarity of purpose, concise for understanding, very interesting for digesting, inspiring to the spirit, and not lengthy to read. These eloquent principles leave one in a wonderful state of mind, ready and waiting for the release of the next elevating and glamorous book, filled with true inspiration for uplifting the mind, body and soul. This is a truly an "Awesome literary masterpiece!" Reviewer: Joseph S. Spence, Sr., a professional reviewer, has published over 30-book reviews in various mediums. He is the author of seven poetry books, and invented "Epulaeryu" poetry. His writings have appeared nationally and internationally in many forums such as: Journal, anthologies, magazines, newspapers, and the U. S. Army. He taught at Bryant and Stratton University, and the American Baptist College. He retired from the U.S. Army as an officer. He is a Goodwill Ambassador, and has received many poetry awards including: Gold Medal Honor, League of Poets 2019 (Nigeria Africa), Noble Star for Literature 2018 (India), Poetry Bard Award 2012 (UK). Poetry Ambassador Medal 2007 (USA), Independent Poet Laureate 2007 (USA), Various Editor’s Choice Awards (USA), and Who’s Who in Poetry 2005 (USA). He has served as Poet-in-Residence, for St. Andrew’s Scottish Society, Wisconsin, and is a member of the Scottish poetry bard, Robert Burns Club, Wisconsin, USA. (less)